Last week we mentioned Jay-Z’s new $22
T-Shirt for his clothing company capitalizing on the Occupy Wall Street
movement (the shirt manipulates the protest’s name so it reads “Occupy
All Streets”). But co-opting a movement for your own gain isn’t just
about making tons more cash.

Smiths fans probably don’t need more
sadness in their lives but they are finally getting to experience the
disillusionment fans of The Beatles, The Who and, well, practically any
legendary artist who has sold their songs to corporations to sell
product. A holiday commercial (or “advert,” as they so adorably say in
the U.K.) for the John Lewis department store is using a cover version
of beloved Smiths’ tune “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”
and the song’s authors, Morrissey and Johnny Marr, approved the whole
thing.

On Saturday night (Nov. 12) after the 7:30 p.m. screening of Take Shelter at the Esquire Theatre in Clifton, CityBeat contributing editor Steven Rosen will lead a discussion into the film's meaning — and what really occurs at the mysterious ending.

In some ways, hiring hit-making Rock band
Nickelback to perform during halftime of the Detroit Lions/Green Bay
Packers game on Thanksgiving makes perfect sense. The band is named
after a football position and, um, well … they have a new album out that
very week! The reasons Nickelback makes no sense as Turkey Day
halftime entertainment are more plentiful.

Ryan Adams seemed well on his way to
reclaiming his former glory, releasing one fairly straight-forward,
mostly solid album this year (instead of eight random ones) and not
being such a pissy little brat all the time. Early interviews for the
new album seemed to suggest a new sense of self-awareness and a regret
over his past rude, baffling statements and actions.

CityBeat’s endorsements on local and state issues

When voters go to the polls on Nov. 8,
they will be faced with making a bevy of wide-ranging decisions that
will directly and indirectly impact their lives in the months and years
ahead. They range from whether Ohioans will be
subject to the provisions of federal health-care reforms passed by
Congress in late 2009 to whether police and firefighter unions may
negotiate for staffing levels to whether Cincinnati should develop any
passenger rail projects during the next decade.

For some reason, in the new authorized biography of Steve Jobs. Jobs felt the need to bring up Mayer, saying he’s “out
of control” and possibly “blowing it big time,” without providing
context or details. Whatever’s wrong, it must be serious — if one the
world’s most brilliant innovators and important figures sees fit to
posthumously call you a dick, it’s time to do some serious personal
inventory.

CityBeat’s endorsements for Cincinnati City Council

Some powerful special interest groups know
a secret that the average Cincinnati voter doesn’t: If you want to make
your votes for City Council truly matter and have the greatest impact,
don’t use all nine of them. That’s right: Even though you can cast nine
votes in the council race, you really shouldn’t.